Congolese contemporary painter, based in Kampala

Already enough
as we are.

I paint Black pride, African memory and identity through large-scale portraits where charcoal meets ancestral symbols, textile patterns and sacred colour. Each face is an act of restoration.

View works About the artist

Now: Dakar Biennale

Dak'Art OFF 2026

(ANTI)FRAGILITÉS : ALLIAGES at Galerie Kaalûm, Dakar, Senegal
19 November to 19 December 2026

Press & enquiries

Selected works

Portraits of pride
& memory

Charcoal, acrylic, oil, pastel and collage on paper. Monumental faces carry scarification, textile motifs and ritual ornaments. Click any work to view it large.

Series

Three bodies of work

AFROCENTRIK

Fifteen large-scale portraits reclaiming Black pride, heritage and future. Charcoal faces crowned with ancestral symbols, halos and sacred colour. The founding manifesto, born in 2023.

Maze of Blackness

An experimental series in acrylic, collage and charcoal, wandering through shadow, texture and fragmentation. Genesis, The Red Nails and Transmission explore Blackness as labyrinth and as home.

We Are Enough
As We Are

The new series, in progress for Dak'Art OFF 2026. Ten portraits carrying one conviction into the world: we are already enough as we are.

“My art is a mirror for those who seek to reconnect with their origins, to see themselves represented with dignity, strength and humanity.”

Kabeya Ilunga, Artistic statement

Journey

From Goma to Dakar

2004, Goma

Roots

Born in Goma, DR Congo, a city where many traditions intersect, shaping an early awareness of identity, beauty and collective memory.

2023, Nakivale

Return to art

After years away, returns to drawing from the Nakivale refugee camp in Uganda. AFROCENTRIK is born: fifteen portraits of Black pride and memory.

2025, Kampala & beyond

East Africa, then Europe

Kiggundu Art Studio, Makerere Art Gallery and Nafasi Art Space in Dar es Salaam, followed by group shows in Berlin and Brussels. Young Leaders for Arts and Health summit.

2026, Abidjan

Representing Uganda

Selected to represent Uganda at the international fair of young visual artists (FIJAP) in Abidjan, with a residency, an exhibition and two works sold.

2026, Dakar

Dak'Art OFF

Invited to exhibit at the Dakar Biennale OFF with Galerie Kaalûm for (ANTI)FRAGILITÉS : ALLIAGES, from 19 November to 19 December 2026.

The artist

Kabeya Ilunga, Congolese contemporary painter

Self-taught.
Rooted. Uncompromising.

Kabeya Ilunga is a Congolese contemporary painter based in Kampala. Working primarily in charcoal to explore Black skin, contrast, texture and deep shadow, he builds a personal visual language of realistic faces, stylised clothing, cultural symbols and vibrant grounds.

Not hyperrealism. A contemporary Afrocentric voice that is intimate, political and celebratory at once.

Full biography

Recent exhibitions

Dak'Art OFF 2026, Galerie KaalûmDakar, Senegal · November to December 2026 · upcoming
Threads of Belonging, OFFXenson Art Space, Kampala · 2026
Art Fair for Young Artists (FIJAP)Palais de la Culture, Abidjan · 2026
Talk Melanin, group showBrussels, Belgium · 2026
Resilience in Exile, group showBella Art Gallery, Berlin · 2026

Contact

Let's talk

Commissions, exhibitions, press and acquisitions. Write to the studio.